1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a camera and more particularly to an operation device of the camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been a salient feature of single-lens reflex cameras that the interchangeable lenses of varied kinds can be selectively used as desired by the users. The camera of this kind permits use of, for example, a telephoto lens having a focal length of 300 mm, a wide-angle lens having a focal length of 24 mm or a standard lens of 50 mm focal length. However, the photographing conditions under which each interchangeable lens is to be used are diverse. The functional arrangement of operation members of the camera suitable for the interchangeable lens can hardly be simply and unconditionally determined. Further, the operation member arrangement suited to the linking of the photographers also varies. Arrangement best suited to one person is not always suited for another. For example, in the case of sport photography, telephoto lenses of focal length 300 mm and above are used in most cases. An ultra-telephoto lens of 1200 mm focal length or so is often used. Many objects to be photographed are moving fast. Therefore, sport photography requires use of a lens of relatively small max. open F-number (a bright lens). Such being the requirement, the lenses to be used for sport photography are heavy. Therefore, the left hand of the photographer is used solely for supporting the lens in case that the camera is to be supported by hand. In such a case, the camera is required to enable the photographer to obtain necessary exposure factors, such as a shutter speed and an aperture value, by performing a selecting operation by the right hand of the photographer. If the camera is fixedly set on a tripod, the weight of the camera is carried by the tripod, so that the left hand can be used for operation. In that case, a function of the camera which requires an operation by the left hand and a function which requires an operation by the right hand can be clearly separated from each other, so that the possibility of an erroneous operation can be lessened. Photographing with a standard or wide-angle lens is also performed by operating the camera with two hands in general. However, there are some cases where the camera must be operated only with the right hand as the left hand cannot be used for the camera, like in photographing in a place jammed with people or while riding on a bicycle, a motorcycle or the like. Therefore, a camera arranged to be operated only in a fixed manner hardly meets requirements for varied photographing conditions and the diverse likings of the users.
Further, heretofore, a camera of the kind having single-shooting and continuous-shooting modes has necessitated the following complex operation for change-over between the single-shooting and continuous-shooting modes: The camera is first set in a signal-shooting continuous-shooting selection mode by operating a button. Then, a dial or an up-down switch is operated to select either the single shooting mode or the continuous shooting mode. After that, the camera is brought back to a photographing state either by pushing a shutter release button down to a first stroke position thereof or by means of a timer.
To simplify the complex mode setting operation for a speedy setting operation, a method of turning on a switch provided for a motor drive device of the camera to instantaneously change the single shooting mode over to the continuous shooting mode during a photographing operation has been disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. SHO 53-125824.
While the conventional mode changing arrangement requires a period of time which is too long to ensure timely capture of shutter chances, the method of changing one mode over to the other by turning on the switch provided for the motor drive device gives a poor operability. Besides, since a switch is to be used solely for the change-over from the single shooting to the continuous shooting, it presents a problem in finding its position on the camera in addition to other operation switches.